Diana Farah Dubai

The Ohara School of Ikebana conducted a cherry blossom themed Ikebana class March 7 in Dubai.

Despite the coronavirus scare, UAE residents attended the Japanese flower arrangements workshop, which was taught by Ikebana professor Harue Oki.

Due to popular demand, the Ohara School of Ikebana, in collaboration with Dubai-based flower boutique Âme Artistic Studio, carried out two sessions on the same day, both of which were fully booked.

With the cherry blossom season fast approaching in Japan, the Ikebana school imported fresh cherry blossoms for the workshops.

Some attendees had some idea of the floral art study, while others were first timers, much like Emirati citizen Khawla Abdalla Alhammadi.

“I’ve never heard of Ikebana before attending the workshop. I was very interested when I first saw the ad and was curious about the difference between Japanese flower arrangements and the usual arrangements we see,” she said.

Alhammadi added that she also had a “great interest in the Japanese culture and its teachings.”

“I was always invested in the Japanese peoples’ ways and how they always have a unique perspective to life. Ikebana art is a great example, despite it looking very simple at the first glance, it is actually much more complex than we think,” she said.

Similarly, UAE resident Joy Suzuki said she has a “love for flowers, trees and all the elements of nature.”

Suzuki, who is married to a Japanese man, explained that she was nervous before attending the workshop as she knows that the Japanese are very precise in their details.

“I learned so much and Oki is so patient with her students. She is so willing to share her skills, which gave me more courage,” she added.

UAE resident Melissa Patel said the Ikebana workshop was a chance for her to create her own flower arrangements for her home at low costs.

“The Ohara School of Ikebana and the significance of the cherry blossom was highly informative, and it didn’t feel like a lecture. It was wonderful to learn about the deep history of this art form,” Patel said.

The venue, Âme Artistic Studio, hosts weekly workshops involving arts, lifestyle and wellness, according to the event studio’s manager Cynthia Baz.

“We introduce the theme of flowers as much as possible within our workshops, as a way of spreading awareness of the art of floristry,” Baz said.

The flower boutique has hosted Ikebana workshops in the past, Baz added.

“In celebration of the Japanese Cherry Blossom season, we hosted Oki for an Ikebana workshop to teach the participants the art of composing traditional Japanese floral arrangement utilizing cherry blossoms as the main subject,” she said.

According to Baz, the new coronavirus COVID-19 outbreak in the country did not affect Âme Artistic Studio’s workshops as they are usually small classes, with a maximum capacity of nine attendees.

“The class allowed people to immerse in the serenity and peacefulness of Ikebana. It was a positive and mood lifting experience that people enjoyed as a distraction from the coronavirus scare,” she said.